Factor Structure of the McCarthy Scales At Five Age Levels Between 2½ and 8½

Abstract

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) were factor analyzed at five age levels: 2½, 3-3½, 4-4½, 5-5½, and 6½-7½-8½. The standardization sample (N = 1032) provided the source of data.Varimax rotated factors akin to four of the six MSCA Scales— General Cognitive, Verbal, Memory, and Motor—appeared at age 2½, and tended to appear at all older age levels. Factors akin to the Perceptual-Performance and Quantitative Scales emerged at ages 3-3½ and 5-5½, respectively. The overall findings were interpreted from a developmental perspective, and the data were shown to offer evidence for the construct validity of the MSCA. EDUCATIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT 1975, 35, 641-656. THE McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) comprise 18 short mental and motor tests which have been grouped into six scales: Verbal, Perceptual-Performance, Quantitative, General Cognitive, Memory, and Motor. McCarthy (1972) selected the scales primarily on the basis of functional and intuitive considerations, although the results of preliminary factor analyses of parts of the MSCA standardization data were also considered. These analyses of the standardization edition of the MSCA, though exploratory in nature, served a number of other useful functions. They suggested that the battery (1) has a strong underlying structure, as evidenced by the consistency of the factor patterns for each set of data when several different techniques of factor analysis were applied; (2) had a somewhat similar structure at three different age levels; and (3) measures some abilities 1 I am particularly grateful to Dr. Dorothea McCarthy for her helpful suggestions regarding the implications of the results of the study.2 Reprints may be obtained from

Factor structure of the McCarthy scales

“…The lack of verification for the Quantitative scale led them to affirm that this factor is not relevant in children with a mental age equal or inferior to five years. This coincides with the findings of Kaufman (1975). Teeter (1984), with a sample of 105 subjects ranging in age from 4-1 1 to 6-7 (mean age = 5-6) and with a mean GCI of 115, found the five factors (Verbal, Quantitative, Memory, Perceptual-Performance, and Motor).…”

“…It includes all the subtests of the Quantitative scale, two subtests of the Memory scale (Verbal Memory I and Tapping Sequence), and two subtests that we can label Verbal Reasoning (Opposite Analogies and Conceptual Grouping). It constitutes a sort of hybrid factor that can be explained by the lack of independence of the Quantitative factor in children under 5 years of age (Kaufman, 1975). We agree with Trueman et al (1984) on the difficulty of isolating the Memory factor and on the considerable overlap of the Quantitative factor.…”

“…Nevertheless, a careful analysis of the factorial configurations found reveals a certain lack of congruence in both the confirmation of the factors and their composition; this heterogeneity becomes more patent when one compares analysis carried out with samples of different ages and different cognitive levels. Kaufman (1975) carried out a factorial analysis with children of five age levels drawn from the standardization sample. His results supported the consistency of the Memory, Motor, and Verbal factors for all ages, and of the Perceptual-Performance and General factors for four of the five age groups; the Quantitative factor did not appear until five years of age.…”

Psychoeducational Assessment from a Transactional Perspective

“…The first is the repeated finding of "structuralists" in psychometric research that there are several "clusters" of abilities, representing general, group, and specific factors (Horn, 1972;Kaufman, 1975;McCall, Hogarty, & Hurlburt, 1972;Meyers & Dingman, 1966;Meyers, Dingman, Orpet, Sitkei, & Watts, 1964;Stott & Ball, 1965). The second is the correlated clinical observation that persons seldom if ever present "flat" profiles of ability across different kinds of tasks-i.e., different kinds of ability seem to be required to comprehend and acquire proficiency in different kinds of performance (such as using words, understanding social relations, solving math problems, perceiving spatial relations, and making sense of seemingly ambiguous stimuli).…”

Construct Validity of the Mccarthy Scales of Children's Abilities: Regression Analysis With Preschool Children

“…More detailed factor analyses of the MSCA have been conducted for the purpose of determining the validity of MSCA design (Kaufman, 1975;Kaufman and Hollenbeck, 1973;Wiebe and Watkins, 1980). Wiebe and Watkins demonstrated sex difference in factors of intelligence for four year old boys and girls.…”